Photo Of The Day: Nine Beaches Bermuda

by Chris Owen on

This Photo of the Day, titled “Nine Beaches Bermuda,” comes from Gadling Flickr pool member smallscreen and is dedicated to all our friends located in places where cold winter weather has them dreaming of warmer times or climates.

Nine Beaches is a resort in Bermuda, currently undergoing a $55 million redevelopment of which Bermuda’s Royal Gazette says:

“The result will be a first class, mixed use development in a modernized-Bermudian-themed manner, including a complete upgrade of the current over the water units, dockside restaurant and lounge and the addition of new public space, permanent accommodation units and further enhancement of the resort’s grounds and amenities”

Upload your best shots to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. Several times a week we choose our favorite images from the pool as a Photo of the Day. Now, you can also submit photos through Instagram; just mention @GadlingTravel and use the hashtag #gadling when posting your images.

[Photo Credit- Flickr user smallscreen]

Hotel News We Noted: February 16, 2013

by McLean Robbins on

It’s that time again. We spent the week rounding up the world’s best places to go over the top for your love, but now Valentine’s Day is over and we’re back to tracking the best news in the hotel world, price not a factor.

Here’s this week’s “Hotel News We Noted“:

Get the Travel Bug: Tweet To Win
Relais & Châteaux’s “Winter Scene Around the World” Twitter contest runs through today. One lucky winner will enjoy a one-night stay in each of the Relais & Châteaux Northeast properties: The Surrey, Blantyre, Windham Hill Inn and The White Barn Inn, as well as a private cooking class with Grand Chef Jonathan Cartwright at The White Barn Inn. To win, tweet your favorite winter photo and using hashtag #RCWinter. Particularly for those of you that got the brunt of the Nemo storm, this should be a pretty easy way to win!

Hotels We’d Love to Visit: Where the Swimsuit Models Stayed
We heard lots about the 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue this week, but most of the news was focused on cover girl Kate Upton’s shoot, which took place in Antarctica (Classic Antarctica with Abercrombie & Kent aboard ‘Le Boreal’). We’re a bit more interested in the exotic – many of the models spent close to two weeks at Rapa Nui on the remote Easter Island. It wasn’t cheap, either. Rates at Posada de Mike Rapu, explora Rapa Nui start at $2,385 per person for a three-night, all-inclusive stay.

Crazy Hotel Mascot: Falcons on the Team at Fairmont Jaipur
The falcon may be classified as a highly-endangered species, but the animal has found a new home at this luxury hotel. In the ancient times, falconry was a sport practiced by the Royal families, who hunted wild quarry using trained birds of prey. Shahid Khan, the only living Indian UNESCO certified falconer in India, is the proud owner of four falcons, and even boasts his own captive breeding program. Originally from Jaipur, Shahid comes from a long line of falconers and works with Fairmont Jaipur to keep pigeons away from the hotel.

Cool Hotel Deal: The Colder It Is, The Cheaper Your Upgrade
The Grand Hotel Minneapolis is embracing the winter weather and offering complimentary upgrades based on the temperature at check-in, and here, you pray for cold. If, for example, it’s 25 degrees on average, an upgrade is just $25. Added perks? Free hosted wine hour (red, whites and even hot toddies) from 5-6 p.m. every night and free Wi-Fi Internet and $10 worth of Mini Bar items for InTouch Members (it’s free to join). We wonder what happens if the average dips below zero …

[Image Credit: Grand Hotel Minneapolis]

Stricken Cruise Ship Passengers Make Most Of Bad Situation

by Chris Owen on

Life on board stricken cruise ship Carnival Triumph is far from the travel brochure promise of sandy beaches and warm Caribbean nights. As the ship is being towed to shore after an engine room fire knocked out the ship’s propulsion, passengers have had quite a different experience than what they bargained for. Still, experienced travelers know that not everything goes as planned and making the best of a bad situation often depends on how we choose to react when bad things happen along the way.

“I do want to commend our guests on board the Carnival Triumph … for doing a great job dealing with a difficult situation. I happen to believe that is the nature of the Carnival guests who happen to be very optimistic people (who) enjoy life,” said Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill at a press conference held Tuesday night at Carnival’s Miami headquarters.

Operating with limited services (although the bars are open and drinks are free), 102,000-ton Carnival Triumph is expected to arrive in Mobile, Alabama, on Thursday. Once there, the ship’s passengers will be disembarked quickly, given hot food and a night in one of 1,500 hotel rooms being held by the cruise line. That will no doubt be a welcome change to cold sandwiches and showers along with hot, unventilated cabins.

While reports from passengers on board via Twitter and Facebook vary from describing the situation as a “cruise from hell” to a more positive “we’ll sure remember this one,” odds are everyone will be happy when the sailing is over.”Generally speaking, the mood on board is good under the circumstances and most guests are making the most of it,” Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen told Travel Pulse.

On Friday, 20 charter flights will take passengers back to Houston where arrangements have been made to get them back home. Those on the ship right now will receive a full refund of what they paid for the cruise along with any non-refundable travel services and a complimentary cruise in the future.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched an investigation into the incident.

Here is that press conference from Carnival’s Miami headquarters last night.



[Photo Credit- U.S. Coast Guard]

Over-The-Top Valentine’s Day Experiences: Day 10

by McLean Robbins on


When it comes to love, what better way to say it than with a private jet and diamonds? We have 52 reasons in this package from Jetway Private Air and Four Seasons in this penultimate romance package.

The “52 Love Salute” honors love that lasts through every week of the year. Start with a private chartered flight on a luxurious jet of your choice with Jetway Private Air from any U.S. state. We hope you live far enough away to enjoy this.

En route, play 52 love songs on a play list for an in-flight serenade and enjoy 52 love poems – just in case writing in iambic pentameter isn’t your forte or if the smooth sounds of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” don’t already whet her fancy.

Joining the mile high club is optional, but you will have plenty of time for romance when you arrive to the Ty Warner Penthouse Suite at the Four Seasons Hotel New York, considered one of the world’s most iconic hotel suites.

The evening of romance includes: caviar and Champagne from Calvisius Caviar Bar, unlimited use of the hotel’s Rolls Royce with a personal chauffeur, a personal butler 24/7 and a decadent dinner for two prepared by Executive Chef John Johnson as well as unlimited massages given in the Penthouse spa room.

Really, you had us at “unlimited massage,” but there’s more. You’ll also enjoy a stunning 52-carat heart-shaped diamond necklace from Premier Gem Corporation.

To purchase the package, call Jetway private air (866-809-2198) or Four Seasons Hotel New York (1-800-487-3769). The package begins at $417,000 and can go up to $487,000 depending on departure city. Reservations are based on availability; Penthouse is $40,000 plus tax per night for each additional evening. This package can only be booked over the phone.

Didn’t catch the rest of our over-the-top packages? Check out our past Valentine’s Day coverage, here.

Over-The-Top Valentine’s Day Experiences: Day 9

by McLean Robbins on




We’re wrapping up our over-the-top Valentine’s Day coverage and, as we head into the home stretch, the packages have gotten more and more outrageously luxe. For the trip of a lifetime, try qualia resort on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef.

The trip, which can be given as a gift on February 14 but enjoyed year-round, features an array of services, divine cuisine and incredible experiences from private planes and personalized gourmet meals for a special package offer of $100,000.

The resort, qualia (pronounced kwah-lee-ah), features 60, one-bedroom pavilions and a beach house with views of the surrounding Coral Sea and Queensland’s famed Whitsunday Islands.

But just what do you get for $100k? Here you go:

  • Private round-trip jet from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane to Hamilton Island.
  • Seven-night stay at qualia’s Beach House including a la carte breakfast daily and dinner in either qualia’s Long Pavilion or Pebble Beach restaurants.
  • Private dinner prepared personally by qualia’s Executive Chef, Alastair Waddell.
  • Dinner one evening in Hamilton Island Yacht Club’s fine-dining Bommie restaurant.
  • Private helicopter and gourmet lunch on Whitehaven Beach.
  • Luxury Reef Comber Tour including seaplane flight to Hardy Lagoon, glass bottom boat and snorkeling experience.
  • 8-holes of golf at the Hamilton Island Golf Club with return helicopter transfers from qualia to Dent Island, including three-course Clubhouse lunch with wine.
  • Private luxury yacht charter for a day.
  • Spa qualia couples treatment.
  • Prestige bottle of Robert Oatley Vineyards Finisterre wine with a personalized label signed by Robert Oatley (owner of Hamilton Island).
  • Shipment of Robert Oatley wine to any address in the US for six months after visit (six cases).
  • Private beach drop off with gourmet picnic lunch.
  • Atomic sunset cruise with canapés and champagne.
The Beach House boasts a main bedroom and ensuite entertaining area with large flat-screen TV with surround sound, 10-person dining area, private full-sized swimming pool and separate guesthouse.

To book, email the Luxury Specialist team: luxuryspecialist@hamiltonisland.com.au.